Holder for religious articles



Nov. 24, 1959 A. P. LE VAY HOLDER FOR RELIGIOUS ARTICLES Filed May 13, 1957 INVENTOR.

ATTbRNEYS a in United States Patc-riitQ 2,914,185 A HOLDER FOR nnucroos ARrrcLEs Alex P. Le Vay, Dayton, Ohio Application May 13, 1957, Serial No. 658,655

- 3 Claims. Cl. 211-60) The present invention relates to holders for religious articles, and more particularly to sacramentals that are used for devotional purposes during special seasons of the year. I

The primary object of the invention is to provide a holder for religious articles of a novel and improved character which is suited to certain devotional activities, and one which is inexpensiveto manufacture andtherefore within the financial reach of those religiously inclined. r

Another object is toprovide an article of the character set forth, which is made and sold, while novel and useful, has no religious valueuntil certain accouterments are added by the user and such additions conform to the religious requirements of the particular season of the year. i g

Still another object is to provide an all-metal article which can be readily converted to a devotional piece and in which. the .severe appearance of the metal can be softened duringthe conversion .by the user duringdevotional exercises. a f

The final objectisto provide a metal framework of an inexpensive character .that gives the appearance of symmetry and good balance, the framework serving 38 31511137 port for a proper spacing and proper arrangement of accouterments suchas candles, prayer book and laurel leaves, symbolic of certain devotions which are observed during religious periods. V

Further'objects andfeatures will beapparentas the specification is'perused in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: f

Figure 1 is a' perspective view of the improvedarticle as fabricated and' sold'prior to being, converted to a religious sacramental;

Figure 2 is a similar view of the same article but embellished by the use of certain accouterments, indicated in dot-dash lines, to adapt the article to devotional purposes;

Figure 3 represents an enlarged perspective view of a prayer book clip shown at the center of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a view of a modified form of the clip or holder;

Figure 5 depicts in perspective an alternative embodiment of the candle holder; while Figure 6 shows still another form that the candle holder may take.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, reference character 1 designates a pair of concentrically arranged circular bands of metal, preferably of rod or wire-like section, and spaced apart from center to center at about 3". These bands are continuous, i.e. without a break, and are held in the concentric arrangement by means of three spokes 2 spaced 180 apart, the outer ends of which extend across the space between the two bands and are welded to the latter. The other or inner ends of the spokes are joined at the center 3, so as to constitute a rigid structure.

For ease of manufacture, one of the spokes has a length which not only can extend to the opposite side of ice Patented Nov. 24, 1959 the band structure and second spoke, but also can be bent as indicated at 4..to leave a downwardly extending loop at the center.-;.-The legs 5. of the loop are spaced slightly apart so as to leave a space for receiving a downwardly extending prong 6 (-Fig. 3) which forms a lower end of a pair of springy integral loops. .7, the

' seen in Fig. 2.

- At a plurality of places, located as.symmetrically as possible about the double band 1 with respect to .the spokes 2, there are several (four as shown) candle holders which may take the form of a plurality of rings (three 7 as illustrated)in parallel alignment and spaced apart of rings below that surface. The' ring of the smallest within each unit by means of a pair of vertically positioned stiff wires or rods 10, these rings being of slightly smaller diameter as seen from the top to the bottom of:

the unit in order to accommodate the usual taper found on sacramental candles}. T

These units can be welded or otherwise secured at one: of the rings, the intermediate ring as illustrated, to the outer band 1 thus leaving the upper twdpairs of rings above the surfaceof .the bands 1 and the two lower pairs size serves as a base for theentire'device andfthe bands 1 are thus supported in a horizontal plane. '1 If desired, the

loop 4 can be extended downwardly as far as the. lower surface of the lower ring 9 so that it, too, may lend support to the device as a whole,'particularly at the center.

Figure 2 shows. the manner in which 'the article il-= lustrated in Figure 1 would be used .in service. The devotional candles are shown in dot-dash linesat 11 and,

while four such candles have been so depicted, it will .be

understoodthat, if desired,lany number of candles, and thereforeany number of candle holders, may be supplied to the double band structure 1. i vl The latter serves as a support. for a wreath of leaves 12, illustrated as laurel, in which the leaves are alternately placed in staggered relation, their stems being bound together in any suitableand well known manner so as to form a self-supporting wreath, and the stems are secured at three or more places to 'the upper surfaces of the bands 1. For this purpose, hooks 13, ofwhich three are shown in Figures '1 and v 2, are provided, these hooks being formed of wire .lo'op embracing oneor the other of the bands 1 and extending across the:latter so=as to provide supports to .whichthestemstof the interlaced leaves can be tied or connected. ;The.character of these leaves, i.e. as to whether they are laurel, holly or any other form of leaf, can be changed to suit the religious season of the year.

It will be noted that the wreath, when formed with leaves extending diagonally across the two bands 1, first in one direction then the next leaf in the other direction, will completely hide the metal bands 1 and therefore will soften the severity of apperance that usually accompanies metal. All metal parts are preferably painted a deep black so as to minimize the appearance of any of the metal that can be seen when the article has been completely prepared for devotional purposes.

While I have disclosed the prayer book or folder holder 7 as being constituted of wire loops which springily contact one another but can be pried apart to receive the book, I may, if desired, use a U-shaped form of holder as seen in Figure 4. In this case, the holder is made of sheet metal, preferably spring steel, and has a side portion 14, a flat bottom portion 15, and a side portion 16 which converges inwardly so as to provide a temporary clamping force on a book or folder that is inserted between the 3 two sides 14, 16. This holder may be welded to the three spokes 2 on which it is seated, as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 5 depicts another form of candle holder that may be employed to advantage. In this case, the holder is formed of a metal'cylinder'17 having a tapered bore 18 to, accommodate. the taper on a devotional candle and theholder is seated on ast'ar-like base 19 having six or more points,.the sides 20 of which taper outwardly toward the bottom in order to provide a wide supporting surface.

The cylinder 17 can be welded or otherwise secured to the outer band 1 at suitable locations about the periphery and as symmetrically as possible with respect to the positions of the three spokesL Thus, the bottom surface of the sides 20 of each star element serves as a support for the entire article. :The star has religious significance. T

Figure 6 shows still another form that the candle holders may take in that a cylinder 17 is provided as in the case of Figure 5, together with a tapered'bore 18, but in this case the six-pointed star 21 is fabricated of sheet metal and may or may not serve as a base for the article asa whole. As shown in Figure '6, this star is raised above the surface on which the article is supported by means of a rigid rod 22 which is threaded into an opening in one of the points of the star and the lower end of the rod receives a rubber cap 23 which sits upon any desired supporting surface.

By turning the rod 22, any slight adjustments can be made in the height'of the star element 21 from the surface on which the article as a whole is supported, so that any irregularities in levelling the article can be accommodated.

While I have described the parts of the improved article as being constituted of metal and painted black, it is evident that, if desired, I may use plastic material of any desired color and reinforced by contained metal wires if necessary.

From the foregoing, it is evident that I have disclosed an article of manufacture which, when supplied with the embodiments of the various elements shown in Figures 3, 4, 5 and 6, and when embellished with certain religious or devotional accessories such as those exemplified in Figure 2, becomes a religious sacramental for use during the various religious seasons of the year, and such article accommodates itself to considerable change in over-all appearance without changing'the basic structure so as to eifect any desireddevotional assistance.

It will be understood that various modifications and arrangements in structure could be made without departing from the spirit of my invention and, accordingly, I desire to comprehend such modifications and substitutions of equivalents as may be considered to come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patents, is:

1. An article of manufacture comprising a plurality of bands, means for positioning the bands in spaced concentric relation, a plurality of spokes having ends joined at the center of said bands and radiating outwardly at least as far as the inner band to which they are attached, a pair of upwardly extending parallel members spaced apart to receive a prayer book and secured to the junction point of said spokes, a support member secured to said junction point and extending downwardly in the opposite direction from said parallel members, a plurality of circular members secured atequidistant positions about the outer band, each of said members extending downwardly the same distance as the said support so that said circular members and said support together serve to space the concentric bands in an elevated horizontal position.

2. An article of manufacture comprising a plurality of circular bands, means for positioning the bands in spaced concentric relation, a plurality of spokes having ends joined at the center of said bands and radiating outwardly at least as far as the inner band to which they are attached, a pair of upwardly extending parallel members spaced apart to receive a prayer book and secured to the junction point of said spokes, and a plurality of cylindrical members extending in a direction normal with respect to the plane of said circular bands, said members termi nating in a star formed element having sides which taper outwardly toward the bottom in order to provide a wide supporting surface.

3. An article of manufacture comprising a plurality of circular bands, means for positioning the bands in spaced concentric relation,-a plurality of spokes having ends joined at the center of said bands and radiating outwardly at least as far as the inner band to which they are attached, a pair of upwardly extending parallel members spaced apart to receive a prayer book and secured to the junction point of said spokes, and a plurality of cylindrical members extending in a direction normal with respect to the plane of said circular bands, said members terminating in a flat star-like base which serves as a supporting surface for the entire article.

References Cited in the file of this patent 2,267,522 Havlis Dec. 23, 1941 

